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Spinal Stroke Recovery

Spinal stroke is a life-threatening medical condition, but survival and recovery are possible. Though some patients survive, they may not recover from physical and neurological disabilities.

  1. Spinal Stroke

    • A spinal cord infarction, or spinal stroke, is stroke that affects the spinal cord. Spinal stroke can occur when arteries that supply blood to the spinal cord are blocked.

    Features

    • Symptoms of spinal stroke may develop over minutes or hours and include back pain, pain in the legs, paralysis, movement dysfunction and incontinence. Spinal stroke can cause permanent paralysis, permanent neurological dysfunction and death.

    Recovery

    • Recovery from a spinal stroke is possible, particularly if the patient is treated quickly, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The mortality rate for spinal stroke patients within a month of the stroke is approximately 25 percent, according to Dr. Thomas F Scott in his article on eMedicine.

    Age

    • Among a sample of spinal stroke patients, old age decreased the likelihood of “functional recovery," according to research published in 2001 in the journal Spinal Cord.

    Treatment

    • Treatment of spinal stroke is symptomatic, according to the NINDS. Those recovering from spinal stroke may need to be treated for lung and bladder infections, incontinence and other complications that may arise from paralysis.

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